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The oil spill from one of the two Panamian cargo ships which ran aground stopped on Monday, three days after they collided off Mumbai coast in a big relief but environmenal concerns remained over spread of the oil slick and presence of toxic chemicals in the waters.

Earlier, the oil spill off the Mumbai coast was worsening by the hour on Monday with high tide and winds threatening to push the slick towards the city's coastline and one of the two ships involved in the collision on the verge of sinking. WATCH VIDEO

Maharashtra Environment Minister Suresh Shetty said the oil spill had affected 2-3 miles of the sea waters. The administration had been asked to collect samples of water and fishermen advised to remain on the shores.

Adding to the worry was the presence of at least 31 containers with hazardous substances aboard MSC Chitra, the sinking ship that had collided with MV Khalija on Saturday. Twenty-five containers had sodium hydroxide and six contained pesticides harmful to marine life.

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the industries that use sea water for their cooling plants were directed to stop the practice.

The biggest challenge was of containing the oil spill, with around 500 tonnes of oil having leaked into the Arabian Sea and 3-4 tonnes oozing into the waters every hour.

While the Coast Guard was using oil depressants, the proximity of the disaster to the coastline had magnified the crisis. Help had been sought from experts in the Netherlands and Singapore. The Mumbai port had been shut, at least for the next 72 hours.

Equally challenging was the recovery of containers drifting in the Arabian Sea. These would prevent the reopening of the port as any passing ship could collide with the containers.

Satish Agnihotri, Director General (Shipping), said that 200 of the over 1,200 containers on MSC Chitra had fallen into the waters.

A worried Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought a report from the shipping ministry while civic authorities in Mumbai advised people not to buy fish for the next few days. A disaster management team met on Monday to assess the damage.

Saturday's collision was so powerful that both the ships developed cracks. MSC Chitra, measuring 180 metres in length, tilted sharply under the impact.

A preliminary probe indicated navigational error by the captains of the ships. The role of Vessel Traffic Management System was also being probed. The system at the port should have sent pilots to guide the ships. Its radar should have noticed that the ships were on a collision course and raised an alarm.

An FIR was lodged against the crew of both the ships for endangering life, causing destruction and causing damage to the environment. But arrests were yet to be made. The captains of the ships had been called to Mumbai's Yellow Gate police station.

With PTI

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